Supply Chain Revolution

Supply Chain and Sustainability Strategist, Sheri Hinish (Supply Chain Queen)

Supply Chain Revolution®: Sustainability, Innovation, Technology The supply chain podcast where sustainability, AI, and global trade strategy collide. If you run supply chains, set procurement strategy, or lead enterprise transformation, this is the show that connects the dots others miss. Hosted by Sheri Hinish, the Supply Chain Queen, each episode tackles the questions keeping executives up at night: how tariffs and trade disruption reshape sourcing and supplier networks, where agentic AI and automation are actually delivering ROI in supply chain planning, what reshoring and nearshoring mean for sustainability commitments, how to operationalize ESG and Scope 3 reporting without destroying margins, and why the companies building circular economy and regenerative supply chains are outperforming those that are not. Guests include senior leaders from Microsoft, SAP, IBM, Amazon, Starbucks, Unilever, MIT, TerraCycle, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and the most ambitious climate technology companies in the world. These are not scripted talking points. These are real operators, real decisions, and real outcomes. Whether the topic is autonomous supply chain planning, digital twins, supply chain cybersecurity, trade compliance, sustainable procurement, carbon data transparency, or the talent pipeline for next generation supply chain leaders, every episode delivers frameworks you can use Monday morning. Built for chief supply chain officers, heads of procurement, sustainability leaders, operations executives, technologists, policymakers, and graduate students in supply chain management, operations, and sustainability. If your role touches global supply chains, this show was made for you. Sheri Hinish is an award winning executive strategist, board advisor, and global thought leader in supply chain transformation, sustainability, and AI. She is the Founder of Supply Chain Revolution Global and previously led sustainability consulting at EY and IBM. Featured in The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, The Economist, and Forbes. Named the number one Global Supply Chain Leader and Top 250 Leaders in Sustainability. She speaks regularly at COP, New York Climate Week, Reuters Events, and Gartner Supply Chain Symposium. Show notes and resources at supplychainqueen.com Full episodes on YouTube at youtube.com/@supplychainqueen Follow Sheri on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/supplychainqueen

  1. #1 Industry 4.0 Thought Leader on What Manufacturers Get Wrong About Digital Transformation | Insights with Jeff Winter (Belden)

    13 hr ago

    #1 Industry 4.0 Thought Leader on What Manufacturers Get Wrong About Digital Transformation | Insights with Jeff Winter (Belden)

    Industry 4.0 is not a tool set you buy. It is a business transformation that requires the right strategy, storytelling, change management, and credible execution across both business and the plant floor. That is the thesis Jeff Winter has been refining for years, and it is why he has been ranked the number one global thought leader for Industry 4.0 by Onalytica, named the number one global influencer in manufacturing by Manufacturing Digital Magazine, and has amassed over 100 million views across more than 1,300 LinkedIn posts. In this episode of the Supply Chain Revolution podcast, Sheri Hinish sits down with Jeff, now VP of Commercial Strategy at Belden, for a conversation about what it actually takes to make Industry 4.0 real inside a manufacturing organization. Jeff traces his career from sales engineer to safety PLC turning point to the moment he stopped selling products and started selling visions, and how LinkedIn and storytelling transformed not just his career but his identity. Together, they unpack why manufacturers struggle to turn proven technologies into a clear path forward (most start with nouns like AI and IoT when they should start with verbs like reduce, accelerate, and standardize), the five prerequisites that must be true inside an organization before technology creates value, and the emerging concept of the "two factories" model where a physical factory makes the product and an AI factory produces the intelligence that runs it. Jeff also shares his framework for understanding Industry 4.0 as both an era and a destination, why every plant thinks it is special (and why that kills scale), and what connected intelligence looks like when done right. Chapter Markers: 0:00 Introduction: making Industry 4.0 real 1:03 Meet Jeff Winter: origin story and career arc 2:07 LinkedIn, storytelling, and 100 million views: building a movement 3:41 The safety PLC turning point: from selling components to selling the safe machine 8:40 Selling the product vs. selling the problem vs. selling the vision 10:21 Industry 4.0 defined: era vs. destination (and why both are right) 13:32 Why manufacturers struggle: starting with nouns instead of verbs 14:17 Cross-functional value, functional budgets, and the ownership gap 15:20 Industry 5.0 vs. 4.0: is 15 years enough for an industrial revolution? 19:27 What real digital transformation requires: five prerequisites 21:25 Every plant thinks it is special (and why that kills scale) 23:21 The next manufacturing operating model: from connected equipment to connected intelligence 24:51 Jensen Huang's two factories: the physical factory and the AI factory 25:14 Making intelligence operational: the real competitive advantage 26:19 Final words and how to find Jeff on LinkedIn Key Topics: Industry 4.0, digital transformation, IT/OT convergence, manufacturing strategy, smart manufacturing, physical AI, connected intelligence, NVIDIA two factories, Belden, change management, human centricity, cross-functional KPIs, manufacturing operating model, automation, IoT, digital twin, business case for transformation, plant floor to enterprise, operational technology, Jeff Winter Connect and Learn More: Jeff Winter: linkedin.com/in/jeffreyrwinter Belden: belden.com Sheri Hinish (Supply Chain Queen): supplychainqueen.com Subscribe to Supply Chain Revolution on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever you listen.

    27 min
  2. From Silos to Systems Thinking: How Inchainge Is Rewiring Supply Chain Skills for the Age of AI and Circularity with Rada Lazarova

    29 May

    From Silos to Systems Thinking: How Inchainge Is Rewiring Supply Chain Skills for the Age of AI and Circularity with Rada Lazarova

    Simulation is the missing layer in supply chain talent development. That is the thesis of this episode of the Supply Chain Revolution podcast, where Sheri Hinish sits down with Rada Lazarova from Inchainge, the company behind The Fresh Connection and The Blue Connection, the world's leading supply chain business simulations used by over 40% of the world's top 100 manufacturers and nearly half a million learners across more than 100 countries.  Rada, based in Utrecht in the Netherlands, brings a perspective shaped by her own journey from Bulgaria to Wisconsin to the Dutch experiential learning ecosystem. She explains why traditional supply chain education falls short: it teaches theory without context, creating professionals who understand frameworks but freeze when confronted with the cross-functional complexity of real supply chain decisions. Inchainge's simulations drop participants, whether university students or Fortune 500 executives, into virtual companies where they take on VP-level roles and discover, often painfully, that optimizing their own function can bankrupt the entire business.  Together, they explore why silos are the root cause of supply chain underperformance, how the human behaviors of students and C-suite executives are remarkably similar when placed in simulation environments, why sustainability thinking only takes hold when every decision is linked to impact metrics, and how Inchainge's new AI tutor responds like a teacher (with more questions, not answers) rather than a chatbot. Rada closes with a challenge to every supply chain leader: stop saving the day, start solving the problem.  Chapter Markers:  0:00 Introduction: simulation as the missing layer in supply chain talent  0:24 Meet Rada Lazarova: from Bulgaria to Wisconsin to Inchainge  1:29 Why traditional supply chain education falls short  2:21 Inside the simulation: VP-level roles, cross-functional decisions, and sandbox failure  3:58 The power of going bankrupt with no consequences  4:33 Context engineering in the age of AI and automation  5:08 Silos as root cause: how one client restructured their KPI system after training  5:57 40% of the world's top 100 manufacturers: students vs. executives in the simulation  8:06 Recovery in a simulation vs. recovery in the real world  8:26 New AI and circularity capabilities on the Inchainge platform  9:12 The sustainability hands-up moment: before and after the simulation  11:00 Circular metrics: return on material, circularity of inputs, alternative revenue models  11:52 The AI tutor: why it asks questions instead of giving answers  13:35 Rapid fire: the biggest misconception about supply chain talent today  14:18 What every supply chain leader should unlearn  15:29 Rotate, explore, get your hands dirty: career advice  15:39 What excites Rada most about the next five years of supply chain education  Key Topics:   Supply chain talent development, simulation-based learning, experiential learning, Inchainge, The Fresh Connection, The Blue Connection, supply chain skills gap, cross-functional KPIs, silo breaking, supply chain education, AI in education, circularity simulation, supply chain sustainability training, core skills, context engineering, supply chain gamification, workforce development  Connect and Learn More:  Rada Lazarova: linkedin.com/in/radalazarova  Inchainge: inchainge.com  The Fresh Connection (supply chain simulation): inchainge.com/learning-solutions  The Blue Connection (circular economy simulation): inchainge.com/learning-solutions  Sheri Hinish (Supply Chain Queen): supplychainqueen.com

    18 min
  3. The State of Sustainable Apparel: What North America Needs to Know with Christine Goulay | Innovation Forum Partnership

    11 May

    The State of Sustainable Apparel: What North America Needs to Know with Christine Goulay | Innovation Forum Partnership

    In this episode of the Supply Chain Revolution podcast, produced in partnership with the Innovation Forum, Sheri Hinish sits down with Christine Goulay, founder of Sustainabelle Advisory Services in Paris. Christine brings 20 years of experience at the intersection of sustainability and fashion, including operational roles at Pangaea and the Kering Group (the luxury conglomerate behind Gucci and Balenciaga), advisory work with UNEP and the Textile Exchange, and board positions with traceability and materials startups including Fairly Made. Together, they unpack the honest state of sustainable apparel in 2026. Christine identifies three distinct tiers of brand behavior: the core leaders who are integrating sustainability as a risk reduction and customer engagement strategy, the compliance hedgers who are calculating whether to invest now or pay fines later, and the silent majority waiting to see which way the regulatory wind blows. She explains why regulation was the decisive differentiator in scaling reuse in France, why the same dynamic is now playing out with the California Textile Recovery Act and Digital Product Passport requirements in the EU, and why simply checking the compliance box builds adequate supply chains, not extraordinary ones. Christine introduces a powerful framework: the love language of sustainability. Borrowed from Gary Chapman's 1992 book, the concept is that sustainability leaders must speak the language of their audience, replacing terms like ESG with resilience when talking to procurement, framing impact as risk reduction for CFOs, and embedding sustainability KPIs alongside financial metrics so sourcing teams can make balanced decisions without career risk. She shares how France's EPR eco-modulation bonus returns 70 cents per garment for certified materials versus a five-to-seven cent average EPR cost, and how forward-thinking brands are embedding CO2 emissions data directly into RFPs. Connect with our guest: Christine Goulay, Founder, Sustainabelle Advisory Services LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinegoulay/ Our partner for this episode: Innovation Forum Website: https://innovationforum.co.uk/conferences/sustainable-apparel-and-textiles-conference-usa/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/innovation-forum-uk/posts/?feedView=all Join us at the Sustainable Apparel and Textiles Conference USA New York City | June 3–4, 2026 | 230+ leaders | Chatham House Rules Register: https://innovationforum.co.uk/conferences/sustainable-apparel-and-textiles-conference-usa/ Connect with Sheri Hinish (Supply Chain Queen®): Website: https://www.supplychainqueen.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherihinish/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SupplyChainQueen Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/supplychainqueen/ Listen to Supply Chain Revolution on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/supply-chain-revolution/id1496639064 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2yfqyaA8FtAcwjUDi2nrhe Key Topics: sustainable apparel 2026, textile regulation, EPR Extended Producer Responsibility, California Textile Recovery Act, Digital Product Passport DPP, circularity textiles, traceability, supply chain transparency, Kering Group, Sustainabelle, Innovation Forum, Sustainable Apparel and Textiles Conference USA, fashion supply chain, supplier de-risking, impact KPIs, love language of sustainability, Fairly Made, eco-modulation, total cost of ownership, procurement sustainability

    23 min
  4. Energy Is Not a Line Item; It is an Operating System: Rethinking Supply Chains on Earth Day with Wes Herche, co-founder of Sustainability Decoded

    22 Apr

    Energy Is Not a Line Item; It is an Operating System: Rethinking Supply Chains on Earth Day with Wes Herche, co-founder of Sustainability Decoded

    In this special Earth Day episode of the Supply Chain Revolution podcast, Sheri Hinish sits down with Wesley Herche, Director of Energy and Sustainability Solutions at Prologis and co-founder of the Sustainability Decoded newsletter. Wesley brings one of the most unconventional career paths in the sustainability world, from civilian intelligence officer at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and deployment to Iraq, through BCG and Amazon, to his current role at the world's largest logistics real estate company. Wesley's thesis is as provocative as it is precise: there is no difference between GDP and energy. Every supply chain decision that appears to be about cost, resilience, or emissions is fundamentally an energy decision. He argues that organizations must stop treating energy like a procurement line item and start treating it as the operating system on which their entire supply chain runs. Together, they unpack why the discovery of fossil fuels created the sharpest inflection point in human development history, how Pakistan added 25 gigawatts of rooftop solar (most of it through DIY TikTok tutorials) to build energy resilience now larger than all other generation combined, and why the Strait of Hormuz crisis is revealing what has always been true: energy logistics are the invisible substrate of the global economy. Wesley breaks down the three energy services every business actually consumes (heat, propulsion, and electricity), how to evaluate alternative generation architectures across onsite solar, battery storage, green tariffs, and offsite renewables, and why treating emissions like product specs transforms procurement from a cost function into a strategic weapon. They close with the announcement of Sustainability Decoded as a new Supply Chain Revolution community partner. Follow Wes and Sustainability Decoded Key Topics: Earth Day 2026, energy supply chains, energy as operating system, renewable energy strategy, Prologis, Sustainability Decoded, Strait of Hormuz, electrotech, Scope 1 2 3 emissions, supplier decarbonization, onsite solar, battery storage, energy resilience, Pakistan solar revolution, GDP and energy, supply chain sustainability, green tariffs, climate strategy

    21 min
  5. The Strait of Hormuz Playbook: Navigating the Biggest Supply Chain Crisis Since COVID with Sam Achampong, CIPS

    20 Apr

    The Strait of Hormuz Playbook: Navigating the Biggest Supply Chain Crisis Since COVID with Sam Achampong, CIPS

    The Strait of Hormuz crisis has become the largest disruption to global energy supply since the 1970s oil embargo, with ship transits collapsing by over 95% and an estimated 230 loaded oil tankers stranded inside the Persian Gulf. Fertilizer exports through the strait have plummeted by more than 90%, threatening global food production heading into planting season. So what does the recovery playbook actually look like for supply chain and procurement leaders whose operations run through the Gulf? In this episode, Sheri Hinish sits down with Sam Achampong, Regional Director for CIPS across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific, live from Dubai in the middle of the crisis. Sam brings over 18 years of experience operating in the Gulf region and offers an unvarnished, on-the-ground perspective that transcends the headlines. Together, they unpack how business continuity plans are holding up (and where they are falling short), why organizations are renegotiating payment terms with strategic suppliers to fund local sourcing pivots, and how the cash-flow circularity strategy is helping companies stabilize operations in real time. Sam shares hard-earned lessons on supplier relationship management, the critical difference between transactional and strategic partnerships, and why the best procurement leaders never become famous. They also explore the talent gap, the underinvestment in people skills relative to technical capabilities, and why context engineering is the true differentiator for AI-enabled supply chain decision-making. Sam closes with a powerful historical parallel: CIPS itself was founded in response to the Smoot-Hawley tariffs of the 1930s, proving that procurement professionals have been navigating geopolitical disruption for nearly a century. Key Topics: Strait of Hormuz crisis, Middle East supply chain disruption, procurement recovery playbook, business continuity planning, supplier relationship management, strategic sourcing, energy supply chain, petrochemical trade disruption, fertilizer supply crisis, AI in supply chain risk, talent development, CIPS, geopolitical risk management

    29 min
  6. How This CEO Built a $100M Business From Garbage and Redesigned the Circular Supply Chain | TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky

    12 Apr

    How This CEO Built a $100M Business From Garbage and Redesigned the Circular Supply Chain | TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky

    What if the $2.6 trillion in materials the world throws away every year is not a waste problem, but a supply chain design problem? What if there was a way to capture that value and build a 9 figure empire? In the Season 3 premiere, Sheri Hinish sits down with Tom Szaky, the founder and CEO of TerraCycle, a company operating in 20 countries that has recycled over 8 billion items the traditional waste system refused to touch. Tom dropped out of Princeton to build a business around garbage. Twenty-five years later, TerraCycle generates nearly $100 million in annual revenue and just announced a Reg A $75 million investment offering to scale its operations further.  In this episode, Tom breaks down why 95% of products have no viable recycling pathway (and why it has nothing to do with technology), why everything is getting less recyclable over time as products get cheaper, how Loop cracked the code on reusable packaging in France while it stalled in the US, and why waste is the least innovative industry in the world, making it the biggest blue ocean for entrepreneurs.  Sheri and Tom share insights on frameworks for circular supply chain design, extended producer responsibility, and the role of supply chain leaders as planetary systems architects. Whether you lead procurement, operations, logistics, or sustainability, this episode reframes waste as a competitive strategy conversation, not an environmental afterthought.  Connect with Tom Szaky and TerraCycle: Terracycle.com + Tom on LinkedIn + Learn more invest.terracycle.com Topics covered: circular economy, circular supply chain, waste economics, waste management, recycling, reuse, Loop, extended producer responsibility (EPR), packaging, zero waste, supply chain innovation, TerraCycle, regenerative supply chains.

    28 min
  7. Designing for Access: How Supply Chain Thinking Can Fix AI + the Talent Gap

    26 Mar

    Designing for Access: How Supply Chain Thinking Can Fix AI + the Talent Gap

    Join Sheri Hinish for the launch of Student Voices, a new curated conversation within the Supply Chain Revolution pod spotlighting standout student and early-career leaders shaping the future of supply chain, sustainability, and innovation. In this debut episode, Sheri sits down with Yaseen Ahmid, founder of Luna, to explore how more human-centered systems can unlock overlooked value in people, communities, and markets.  This conversation moves beyond resumes. Yaseen shares why he sees talent access, circular economy, and Africa-centered systems leadership as part of one larger operating philosophy: redesign the flow, restore agency, and build pathways to opportunity that are more inclusive by design.  Listeners will hear how Luna responds to an increasingly automated and impersonal hiring landscape, why human judgment still matters in talent development, and how supply chain thinking can help leaders rethink access, resilience, and value creation at scale.  Key Insights  • Why Yaseen views careers, circularity, and regional development as one connected systems challenge  • How Luna was built to restore agency in a job-search process that often feels automated and generic  • Why access should be treated as infrastructure, not as a matter of chance  • What global leaders still misunderstand about African markets, innovation, and supply chain potential  • How circular thinking applies not only to materials, but also to where value is created, captured, and shared  • What employers, students, and operators can do now to build pathways that are more fair, practical, and future-ready  What Listeners Will Learn  • How a supply chain lens can strengthen talent systems, sustainability strategy, and community impact  • Why personalized guidance can outperform one-size-fits-all career support when the stakes are identity and opportunity  • How young leaders can balance execution, systems thinking, and ecosystem building  • What it means to design opportunity systems that are both human-centered and scalable  Why This Conversation Matters  The episode frames opportunity as a design question. Rather than treating career access, sustainability, and regional development as unrelated topics, it shows how thoughtful system design can surface value that traditional models often miss.  Who Should Listen  Ideal for students, early-career professionals, hiring leaders, supply chain operators, sustainability advocates, and anyone interested in building more inclusive systems of opportunity.  About the Guest  Yaseen Ahmid is the founder and CEO of Luna, a personalized resume review service designed to help students and young professionals communicate their strengths with clarity and confidence. Across his broader work in consulting, circular economy, and student leadership, he brings a consistent focus on access, agency, and system redesign.  About the Series  Student Voices is a new curated conversation within the Supply Chain Revolution pod featuring emerging leaders whose stories, ideas, and operating philosophies can help shape the future of supply chain.  🔗 Connect & Learn More 🌐 Supply Chain Revolution® Podcast: www.supplychainqueen.com/podcast 💬 Follow Sheri Hinish (The Supply Chain Queen®): linkedin.com/in/supplychainqueen 📺 YouTube: youtube.com/@supplychainqueen 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/supplychainqueen 📱 TikTok: @supplychainqueen 🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/supply-chain-revolution 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/supply-chain-revolution

    28 min
  8. Decarbonizing Transportation with Precision Data - 10 Big Ideas to Transform Supply Chains for a Regenerative Future

    27 Feb

    Decarbonizing Transportation with Precision Data - 10 Big Ideas to Transform Supply Chains for a Regenerative Future

    What if the emissions hiding in your transportation network could cost your company millions in regulatory exposure — and you didn't even know?  In this final episode of the Supply Chain Revolution's 10 Big Ideas to Transform Supply Chains for a Regenerative Future, hosts Sheri Hinish (Supply Chain Queen) and co-host James George close the series with a conversation that ties it all together: end-to-end decarbonization powered by precision data.  Their guest is Constantine Komodromos, founder of VesselBot and a Time 100 Award honoree, who built his company after a visit to the Parthenon in Athens changed everything. What began as a maritime optimization platform evolved into a mission-critical data infrastructure company helping shippers understand — in real time — the emissions their carriers are generating, and what it's actually costing them.  In this episode, you'll learn:  Why spend-based emissions accounting creates dangerous blind spots for large organizations How one automotive customer discovered €300K to €1M+ in preventable cost exposure from 160,000 tons of emissions they didn't know they had Why 40% container utilization is a fixable problem that saves money and carbon simultaneously How real-time vessel data — including Suez Canal rerouting and fuel consumption shifts — gives shippers an edge in volatile geopolitical environments Why sustainability embedded into daily operations is more durable than compliance-driven initiatives  Sheri connects Big Idea 10 to themes across the series: James Mnyupe's case for CBAM as a business ROI lever (Big Idea 9) and Sophie Beckham's packaging taxation insights (Big Idea 7), reminding listeners that data literacy at every node of the value chain is what makes regenerative transformation real.  Ideas 1 through 6 asked us to envision what's possible. Ideas 7 through 10 showed us how to execute. This is the one that brings it home.  Nothing's stopping us now.  supplychainqueen.com Episode Tags: supply chain, decarbonization, emissions data, maritime logistics, transportation sustainability, VesselBot, EU ETS, CBAM, regenerative supply chain, supply chain queen, circular economy, data-driven sustainability

    19 min

About

Supply Chain Revolution®: Sustainability, Innovation, Technology The supply chain podcast where sustainability, AI, and global trade strategy collide. If you run supply chains, set procurement strategy, or lead enterprise transformation, this is the show that connects the dots others miss. Hosted by Sheri Hinish, the Supply Chain Queen, each episode tackles the questions keeping executives up at night: how tariffs and trade disruption reshape sourcing and supplier networks, where agentic AI and automation are actually delivering ROI in supply chain planning, what reshoring and nearshoring mean for sustainability commitments, how to operationalize ESG and Scope 3 reporting without destroying margins, and why the companies building circular economy and regenerative supply chains are outperforming those that are not. Guests include senior leaders from Microsoft, SAP, IBM, Amazon, Starbucks, Unilever, MIT, TerraCycle, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and the most ambitious climate technology companies in the world. These are not scripted talking points. These are real operators, real decisions, and real outcomes. Whether the topic is autonomous supply chain planning, digital twins, supply chain cybersecurity, trade compliance, sustainable procurement, carbon data transparency, or the talent pipeline for next generation supply chain leaders, every episode delivers frameworks you can use Monday morning. Built for chief supply chain officers, heads of procurement, sustainability leaders, operations executives, technologists, policymakers, and graduate students in supply chain management, operations, and sustainability. If your role touches global supply chains, this show was made for you. Sheri Hinish is an award winning executive strategist, board advisor, and global thought leader in supply chain transformation, sustainability, and AI. She is the Founder of Supply Chain Revolution Global and previously led sustainability consulting at EY and IBM. Featured in The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, The Economist, and Forbes. Named the number one Global Supply Chain Leader and Top 250 Leaders in Sustainability. She speaks regularly at COP, New York Climate Week, Reuters Events, and Gartner Supply Chain Symposium. Show notes and resources at supplychainqueen.com Full episodes on YouTube at youtube.com/@supplychainqueen Follow Sheri on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/supplychainqueen

You Might Also Like